Hidden in the Corners of My Mind
by Sno Italever
Summary: OneShot-The life of the SOLDIER Commander Sephiroth and the reason of his insanity that rose to the burning of Nibelheim. It just goes to show that Cloud wasn't the only puppet Hojo and Jenova had. -Contains OC and real characters to the FF7 series- Enjoy


Hidden in the corners of my mind

The character and plot of this story is not mine, I do not own Square Enix or the Final Fantasies, but I do own the game. This is all fiction, it is not mine! NOT MINE! bows Thank you. :)

"No one's afraid of the dark, just what lies within it" Sephiroth

"This is the cafeteria, where everyone…..eats, I guess. Well, that's the tour, hoped ya liked it, squirt," The tall solider snorted. He, like many, didn't really like the 4 ½ foot tall kid in front of him.

"Thanks for the help" the kid smiled politely, flipping he short white hair out of his face. The boy bowed slightly, and then turned to leave.

"Commander, sir…"

"Yep."

"What's your name? I mean, you're like fifteen years old and solider commander already! You've been here for a total of two days! I've tried for ten years to get up to first class!" The solider pointed out.

"Ummm, I'm only ten…."

"Ten! What the hell's up with Hojo! You're gonna get killed!"

"Sir, do you still want my name?" the kid said, looking as though he had broken something really important.

"Oh, yeah, sorry."

"It's Sephiroth," He muttered, leaving through the doors that lead to the bunk rooms.

"Sephiroth, eh? Well, I'm Gibbs. Pleasure is mine," Gibbs said, watching him go. "Poor kid. Never gonna have the chance to grow up like the normal crowd."

Sephiroth looked around the bunkroom he had been assigned too. It was big, really big. In fact, it was three times as large as the normal ones. It was also filled with normal things people have in rooms, a bed, table, chairs, and a book case. He didn't like it, he felt spoiled. The only thing he did like was the bookcase.

"I'm going to talk to Mr. Hojo about this," Sephiroth said, sitting on the floor next to the bed. Across from him was a present from Hojo, a seven foot blade known as Masume. He liked the blade a great deal, but didn't understand why Hojo had given it to him, along with the title of SOLIDER commander. In fact, there were probably people who were much better than him. This was another thing he didn't like. Sephiroth sat for a bit, studying the room one last time, and then stood.

"Needs a window or a mirror or something," He muttered.

"That can be arranged, my lad," said a voice behind him. He jumped, spinning around at an amazing speed.

"M- Mr. Hojo. Pl-please don't do that," Sephiroth stammered, trying to hide his fright.

"Sorry, I'll knock next time," Hojo said in a fatherly like tone. Even though he didn't like Hojo that much, he couldn't help but think of him like a father.

"What do you need, Mr. Hojo?" Saphiroth asked.

"A few SOLIDERs wanted to fight you. I was wondering if you wanted to fight them, also. If you do, then come to the arena at around two. It's optional, so don't feel pressured to accept," Hojo said, exiting quickly before Sephiroth could say anything. Sephiroth sighed, retrieving a book from the case to read, but decided against it. He wanted to take a walk.

He walked stealthily down the halls of the base, hoping not to be seen by anyone. In the two days he had been here, he had noticed not many people liked him. Oh well, he thought. He glanced casually to his side, catching the eyes of a 1st class SOLIDER. The man jumped to the side as though Sephiroth was a poisonous beast. This shocked him; he wasn't that scary, was he? He looked at the clock located above the man's head. Fifteen till two, great. The battle was going to start soon.

As though in a trance, Sephiroth hurried to the arena, ready to fight. He walked through the air-tight doors into the arena. The arena was filled with people, all shouting. In front of him were two SOLIDER. They must be the people Hojo talked about, he thought. Just then, he realized something.

"Crud, where's Masume?" he whispered. He looked up, noticing that there was no turning back now. The men were armed and ready to fight, as though Sephiroth was just another punching bag.

"Today's match is a special one," Blared the speakers, "Austin and Lindind, both 1st class SOLIDERs, and the newbie, Sephiroth," The men laughed, making Sephiroth cringe. He backed up, giving himself twenty feet between him and the men.

"What's wrong, baby? Want your mommy?" Shouted one. Sephiroth clenched his fists.

"I think he does, Austin!" laughed the tall, muscular one.

"I bet your right. I hope we don't make him cry, Lin," cackled Austin. He must be the leader, Sephiroth assumed.

"What's it to ya?" Sephiroth shouted back. This brought nothing but sneers and laughter from the crowd. Sephiroth expect nothing else.

"Come on, let's get this over with! This is getting boring," Lindind.

"Yeah, let's show him true SOLIDERs!" Austin said. With that, the battle began. The two started the battle by charging Sephiroth head on, which he easily avoided by jumping over their heads. Austin spun around to hit Sephiroth with his gun-blade but was hit with a rock instead. The impact was so great that it sent him flying into the side wall. The other man stopped, watching Sephiroth a bit more carefully now.

"A gun and a spear, that's not fair. I have no weapon," Sephiroth said. One of the men, Lindind, Sephiroth guess, snorted and replied;

"You don't need a weapon, brat," He ran forward, spear pointed down. Sephiroth leaped again, landing on the spear instead of behind it. This caught Lindind off guard. Sephiroth bent down, close to the man's ear.

"Don't talk about my mother that way, you slob!" he whispered.

"What'cha gonna do, cry on me?" Lindind said, looking at Sephiroth.

"No, much, much worse."

"Ha, I'm so…" he never finished his sentence, because, in that very instant, Sephiroth had summoned his sword and was holding it to the man's neck.

"You were saying?" Sephiroth muttered, swinging his sword in a downward arc. The blow hit the man's shoulder and blew him back four feet. Sephiroth glided down to the middle of the arena. He stood there, thinking the battle was over when suddenly he heard something.

"Kid! Watch out!" Came a voice. Hey, thought Sephiroth, that sounds like Gi…

Bam! Austin had finally recovered from the blow and shot Sephiroth with his gun-blade. Sephiroth flew into the side wall, only to be confronted by a spear to his stomach. Blood began to trickle down his stomach onto the ground. He looked up, making eye contact with Lindind.

"Ha, we got'cha now, kid," Austin laughed, joining Lindind. Sephiroth coughed, blood oozing out of his mouth. Gibbs was right; they were going to kill him. Lindind let go of the spear, and walked toward the center of the arena, Austin with him.

"See, Hojo! What I tell ya. No kid will beat the A&L boys!" Austin shouted. Then, they began to laugh, crowd joining them. Lindind and Austin looked at the boy impaled onto the wall. To their amazement, Sephiroth was laughing too.

"Yo, kid. What's with you? You lost! The battles over!" Austin yelled.

"No…" Sephiroth said, weakly.

"Huh?" Lindind whispered.

"NO! THE BATTLE'S NEVER OVER!" Sephiroth bellowed. He gripped the spear and yanked it out of him, throwing it like it was a toothpick. He fell to the ground, landing in a kneeling position. "You ready to pay for what you started?" Sephiroth mused. The men stepped back, confused and afraid. Sephiroth began to rise into the air. Higher he went until he was at least forty feet in the air. He dropped Masume, watching it as it fell to the ground. He then raised his left hand, gazing above him as the sky turned a deep black. This great power he had never felt before, where did it come from. A voice came to from the corner of his mind.

"Sephiroth, this is your true power. Let no one taunt you for something you were born with," Muttered the voice.

"Mother?"

"Yes, my boy….that it me," Sephiroth smiled a wicked smile, and then he laughed, throwing his head back. The sky turned white, giant spheres forming left and right.

"Block this!" He shrieked. The spheres fell from the sky, raining on the men below. It was all over in a matter of seconds.

Sephiroth drifted down to the arenas ground, and all of a sudden, he was very tired. He looked around the arena, looking at the people around him. The great silence was broken by applauds and cheers. Sephiroth smiled, and then noticed his right shoulder hurt. He lifted his left hand to rub his shoulder when he saw that a dark wing was jetting out of his back. He felt the fine feathers, amazed that he had something of such beauty. He started to fall back, but he was caught by a firm hand.

"I see now why nuts-for-brains made you commander," Gibbs said, lifting Sephiroth up onto his shoulders. "HEY ALL YOU IMBISIALES, WE HAVE OURSELFS A WINNER!" Gibbs bellowed, rocking back and forth. "Wave, laddy!" he whispered to Sephiroth. Sephiroth smiled and threw his left hand in the air. To him, it was the greatest day of his young……

"……WIENERS!" a voice behind him yelled. Sephiroth sat up, stunned.

"WHAT!" he said shocked. It was then he realized he was sitting in the cafeteria, a book in front of him. I must have dosed off for a bit, he thought. He looked around. The lucky person who had woke him up was Zack. Sephiroth also noticed that Zack was holding a plate of Hot Dogs.

"You know, Sephy-san, Wieners, Franks, Beefs, Hot Dogs, you get it," Zack said.

"Zack, you do realize more than half the room is filled with guys and that is not exactly what they were thinking," Iah-Ling started, in the look-around-dumb-ass type of voice. Iah didn't like Zack or Sephiroth that much.

Lei Tein looked disgusted "EW! I don't want to eat Zack's…"

"THAT'S ENOUGH!" Sephiroth shouted. Everyone looked at him.

"Mornin' sleepy-head," Iah muttered.

"I'm fully awake now, thanks," Sephiroth stated. He looked at Zack, and then wished he hadn't.

"Come on, Sephy. You know you want one!" Zack said, holding a Hot Dog to his face.

"Please, Zack, I rather eat my foot,"

"Really?" Zack mused.

"Yep, see," Sephiroth said, smiling as he lifted his foot to his mouth.

"DOUBLE EWWW! WHY ARE GUYS SO GROSS?" Lei Tien yelled, turning green. Lei Tien loved jokes more than her evil sister, (as she called her) Iah, but sometimes, the boy's jokes went a bit too far.

"Boy's will be boy's…" sighed Iah as she turned to leave. "By the way, Sephiroth, don't sleep in the cafeteria. This room's for eating. If you want to sleep, go to your room."

"Thank you Iah Ling, next time I feel like sleeping, I'll walk a three miles so I can," Sephiroth laughed. He was, however, speaking the truth. The bunk rooms were three miles, if not further, from the cafeteria, thanks to Hojo's great planning. Obviously, the man didn't own a ruler when he made up the blue prints.

"Oh look, Hojo seemed to have given your brain back, congratulations, Sephiroth," Iah- Ling sneered. Thanks to Sephiroth, she had missed the chance to become SOLDIER commander. Because of this, she hated his guts.

"Yep, and he gave him your position too, mate!" Gibbs laughed, appearing behind Lei Tien.

"AHHHHH! RANDOM PEOPLE ARE MATERIALIZING!" She screamed, rushing to hide under the table nearest her.

"Yeah, next thing ya know, Prez Shinra will pop outta the sky," Zack smirked.

"Oh lord, I hope not! If anyone was to be under him at that time...SPLAT!"

Sephiroth cackled.

"Wow, when did this happen? Well, if I'm Shinra than I don't need no doors no more! Someone carry me, I be too fat to get up!" Gibbs said, laying on the floor, swinging his arms madly like he was stuck. The whole room burst into fits of laughter, but was quickly silenced when Hojo walked in.

"Have any of you half brains seen Sephiroth?" he asked in his I'm-Crazy-And-I-Like-It voice. He looked at the person closest to him, Iah.

"Yep, but he's currently trying to resolve the problem of people materializing out of thin air. Please leave a message after the beep," Iah said in her answering machine voice.

"BEEEEEEP!" hollered Lei Tien. A few snickers arose, but were swiftly quieted as fast as the came.

"Very funny," Sneered Hojo, looking around the room. "Ah, there you are, Sephiroth, my boy. Could you come with me, please?"

Not unless you kill me, Sephiroth thought, but said, "I'm busy taking care of a problem."

"What problem? Imaginary people falling out of the sky, how unlikely."

"Their far from imaginary…" muttered Sephiroth, picking up Zack, who was prepared for this, and tossing him into the air. Zack glided for two seconds than abruptly hit the ground, taking down Hojo with him.

"See, random people falling from the sky!" laughed Zack.

"Get off me, you twit!" Screamed Hojo, but it really just sounded like "et oof ee oww git!"

"Okay, okay…" Zack whooped, cart wheeling backward toward Sephiroth, smiling all the way.

"See, problem!" hollered Gibbs. Hojo jumped to his feet and rushed out of the room screaming;

"Madmen! You're going to pay for that!"

"We love ya too, pops!" Zack cheer, in a jokingly like tone.

"Well, he isn't too sharp. He just noticed we were insane," Iah said.

"Wait…..I'M A MAN!" Lei Tien scream, causing everyone left in the room from the Hojo incident to do the 3 S's and in Zack's case, a V.

Stop.

Stare.

Snicker. And, for Zack,

Vomit.

"I did not need to hear that!" Zack said, then added, "And I will never date another girl again."

"Oh, poor Sephiroth, Zack won't date you no more!" Gibbs hooted.

"What? Is Zack a transvestite?" Lei Tein asked.

"I AM NOT A TRANS!" Zack yelled, "AND I NEVER DATED SEPHY-SAN!"

"Can we please talk about something beside what gender I am….and STOP CALLING ME SEPHY-SAN! THAT'S A GIRLS TITLE!"

"Not always, but in the way we're using it yes, it is a girls title, _Miss _Sephy," Zack said.

"I'm surrounded by idiots…" muttered Iah-Ling. With that, she left the room, smirking as she watched Sephiroth repeatedly hit Zack over the head for calling him a girl…. again. When she was out the door, she whispered to herself;

"He isn't that bad of a guy…maybe I'll date him one day," With that, she transported herself to her room, saving herself the walk.

Sephiroth, Zack, Gibbs, and Lei Tein all walked toward the main guys' room, hoping to get there before Hojo or any other crazy scientist wanted them to _help _them with something…which usually meant training. Lei Tein was bored, so she was following the guys around today, Gibbs was going to find Dega, the only intelligent scientist, and ask her out, Zack was giddy because the mail man had told him that Aries had sent something to him, and Sephiroth was just plain exhausted. He couldn't explain it, and the rest of the team couldn't either.

"You took a nap," Commented Lei Tein.

"Yeah, on the Cafeteria table," Added Gibbs.

"Did you eat the chicken? You know what that stuff does to people," Zack asked. The group stared at him and Sephiroth let out a small snort, which in his case, meant no.

"I know, I'll ask Dega. She would know what's up with ya, Sephy," Gibbs said, breaking the silence.

"Okay, if you need me, I'll be in my room…..sleeping," Sephiroth said groggily, trudging down the west wing, followed by Zack.

"I'll make sure he actually gets there!" Zack called, chasing after the commander. The others waved and continued on their way.

Five minutes later, the two SOLDIERs made it. Zack had to practically carry Sephiroth there, which worried him. Usually the commander was full of energy, so this was odd.

"Hey, Sephiroth? You alright?" He asked, opening the door for the semi-conscience man.

"I don't think so. Hey, Zack? Could you make up one of those snazzy lies of yours and tell it to Hojo so he doesn't come looking for me?"

"That bad, yeh?" Zack said. Sephiroth nodded. "Don't worry; I'll come up with a good one."

"If it works well enough, you can have my bed for the rest of the year."

"Really?"

"Really, Zacky-chan."

"You got your self a deal, mate!" Zack grabbed Sephiroth's shoulder and tossed him into his bed. Sephiroth laid there for a minute then rolled over and waved to Zack, who was on his way out.

"Thanks, Zack."

"Anytime."

_The room was dark and smelled of oil and death. Sephiroth lay on a table, a cold metal slab of reused steel. He looked around his surroundings, taking in the horror around him. A smaller table was located to his left, on it were a few surgical knifes, a towel, and a syringe full of a green liquid. To his right, a bag was hanging on a poll; its wires and tubes dangling like wet hair. The crimson contents lay unwavering in the dim light. It was then Sephiroth noticed he was chained down to the table, allowing minimal to no movement at all. His pulse quickened as he tried to figure out what was going on. His eyes darted back and forth, from the table to the bag. That's when he saw it. Something was behind him, he could feel its icy gaze, and so he craned his neck to get a better view. _

_A long tube stood alone, wires upon wires jetting out in all directions. Hidden amongst these many wires were tubes carrying liquids of all colors to and from the tube. Sephiroth squinted, trying to make out the silhouette in the tube. It looked almost like a human. He squinted harder, making out the face and legs of the thing. He noticed that the thing had no arms and seemed to be in the form of a woman. He gazed at the creature until his neck began to cry out at him. As he turned his head to a comfortable position, the thing opened what seemed to be an eye. The eye let off an eerie red glow, as though this creature's eye had been replaced with a red neon light. The light cast a glow on the creature's body, showing off features that had led to Sephiroth's prediction. The thing was a woman, or what was left of one. Her flesh was decaying and she indeed had no arms. The woman seemed to have reddish flesh coming out of her back, almost in the form of wings. Her hair, Sephiroth could only guess the color to be silver, hung in front of her face and down her exposed chest. _

"_Who are you?" He whispered silently, as though she could hear him. The creature moved its head in an upward slant, surprising Sephiroth. So the thing was alive. Sephiroth saw that the girl was motioning with her head at something. He followed her clue to a plate that hung attached to the top of the tube. The plate was a rusted piece of steel, but he could make out the word printed on it. _

_"Jenova…" he muttered. He felt his stomach drop. Jenova…. the thing that Professor Hojo had found with Gast. The thing people said would cause the end of the world. An unknown creature found in the Northern Cave. _

_Fear began to rise up from the inside of him. He closed his eyes to push it back down, but with no prevail. His eyes began to dart back and forth once more, except this time; he was looking for a way out. Something wasn't right, he felt as though he was going to die. Questions began to form inside of his head, causing the fear he had tried to push away to come back like a screaming bullet. He started to panic, pulling on the chains with his left hand, trying to break them off. When he noticed that nothing was happening, he tried harder, the chains cutting into his wrists. His heart accelerated far above the normal rate, almost causing him to black out. He didn't care. All he wanted to do now was get out of this room, the place, and flee. Find safety and get help. A small cackle broke his chain of thoughts._

_The creature was laughing at him. It was laughing at his pain, his struggling. Its laugh sounded like death itself. He looked back at it and his body was filled with horror. The creature was leaning forward. It's stubs where its arms were supposed to be stretched out to him, as though the thing was going to touch him with its nonexistent hands. Sephiroth smiled a little, seeing how this thing was in a tube and had no arms or hands, it couldn't touch him. The fear began to subside, but was imminently returned when the creatures arms began to materialized beside her. She pressed her newly formed hands on the glass, then pushed through it as though it was water. Her arms reached out to him, her hands sharp as daggers._

_All Sephiroth could do was scream._

"Sephiroth!" he heard a woman's voice yelling to him. It sounded like Dega's voice. "Sephiroth! Can you hear me? Damn it, Gibbs! Why do you have to be so slow to tell me important things!" Yep, it was Dega, alright.

"Calm down, Professor Dega. I'm sure he'll be fine. Its just a cold," said a male voice that had an icy ring to it.

"CALM DOWN? ARE YOU NUTS HOJO? HE AIN'T GONNA BE FINE! HE HAS A 104 FEVER, MY GOSH! THAT AIN'T A COLD LAST TIME I CHECKED!" bellowed Dega. Sephiroth opened his eyes to see that he was still laying on his bed, but Hojo and Dega had entered the room. He gazed at them, as they still argued over his condition.

"Dega, what's wrong? Can I help in any way?" Sephiroth said. He was surprised how weak his voice sounded.

The two professors snapped out of their "I'm right, Your wrong" battle and looked at him. From what Sephiroth was hearing, Dega had won.

"You can help by getting up and getting to training," Said Hojo.

"Oh no he ain't! If he wants to die, then let _him_ get out there, other wise, he shouldn't get up," Dega pointed out.

"What did I do?" Sephiroth asked.

"Nothing" Dega stated.

"Nothing? He did Everything!" Hojo yelled.

"He can't control when he gets sick! If your gonna say stuff like that, get out!" Dega said.

"Well, I say he's fine and he's just wasting time sleeping, so he should get…"

"GET OUT HOJO!" Hojo bolted from the room, followed by flying books and a chair, all thrown by Dega.

"Did I miss something?" Sephiroth asked.

"Not really. Your just sick, nothing more. Don't worry, I won't let Buckteeth mcGoober Butt back in here 'till your better," Dega said, helping Sephiroth sit up.

"You sure I'm just sick?" Sephiroth questioned, leaning against the wall behind him. The hard plaster never felt so good.

"Yep, positive. I did a vitals scan and everything. Its nothing more than the flu," Dega smiled as she sat down next on the edge of the bed. "Why? Is something wrong?"

"You didn't hear me scream?" He leaned forward, just a bit.

"You screamed?"

"So it was just me, then. Right Dega?" Sephiroth relaxed a little, letting himself fall back against the wall once more.

"Okay, something is definitely wrong," Dega said, standing. "I'm going to go get some medicine. I think you might need some. No offence." Dega nodded and headed toward the door.

"No offence taken. Here let me help."

"Sephiroth, No! Don't stand…." CRASH! Sephiroth had successfully stood up, but walking was out of the question. He tried to take two steps and was now laying face down on the floor. "My lord, Man! Your sick! Don't try to stand, let alone walk!" She rushed over to him, trying to help him to his feet. Leaning on Dega, Sephiroth tried once more to stand, but the dizziness and nausea took over and he crashed into the ground once more. Luckily, Zack had heard the crash and came to help.

"Forgot to tell him he can't walk?" Zack asked, finally getting semi-okay Sephiroth off the floor. Dega nodded. They placed Sephiroth back on his bed and retrieved chairs for themselves.

"Okay, Sephy-san, Sick 101. First, no walking, standing, or any other type of mobile things. Second, no eating full meals, you'll end up barfing it up on us. Third, let people actually tend to you. Your sick, so you're not allowed to do anything but sleep or read, in some cases. Got it?" Zack said.

"I think….you didn't give me anytime to take notes, though." Sephiroth smiled, weak but true.

"Okay, back to business. Sephiroth, what did you mean by scream?" Dega asked, changing the subject from barfing to talking.

"Its nothing….really. I must have imagined it," Sephiroth said.

"Its really hard to imagine screaming," muttered Zack.

"Zack, could you go get me some meds? Top self of the lab, third to the left," Dega requested. After a small argument and a "When did I become a errand boy", Zack left the room for the meds.

"There, I thought you might have wanted privacy," Dega stated.

"I'm fine, trust me. I just want to know if you can run a scan on my head." Sephiroth said.

"On your head? Sure, I could do that. Why do you want one?"

"I thought that maybe something was wrong with my head, so I wanted to make sure."

"Oh, okay. Sure thing, Sephiroth. You just lie down and I'll go check to see if a machine is usable. Be right back," Dega said, jumping up.

"Okay, take your time," Sephiroth said silently, slightly waving as she left. But as Sephiroth laid his head down on his pillow, he couldn't shake a feeling. It was a nagging feeling, almost as though something was watching him. Once more he heard the bizarre cackling and the cold voice of strange girl.

_You won't get rid of me that easily, Sephiroth, my dear._

"NO! SEPHY-SAN'S GONNA DIE! WHY IS IT ALWAYS MY FRIENDS! WHY? WHY, WHY, WHY?" Lei-Tein screamed at the top of her lungs. Zack, in his rush to find the meds Dega had asked for, told Lei that Sephiroth was really sick and could die any second, so Dega sent him to get the "really important" medicine so Zack could save him. This lie, of course, made Lei-Tein think that Sephiroth was doomed to die, so she was now crying her eyes out because of it. Zack, who didn't have time to stop her screaming, ran around her, got the meds from the lab, and was running back before Iah tripped him.

"So the great commander is going to die?" Iah questioned. She stared at Zack, almost hopeful.

"No, he's just sick. I just said that to get Lei-Tein to stop talking to me about nail polish," Zack said, truthfully.

"Well, lot a help that did…" grumbled Iah as she went to comfort her sister. Lei, who wasn't in any mood to be comforted, was rushing around the base at mach 5 looking for things that would have happy memories attached to them.

"Zack! Do you think he would remember this," or "did he help me with that" was all over the base. Wow, Zack thought, she really thinks he's dyin'.

"Great, she crying up a storm. Next thing you know, the SOLDIER Base will be on its own continent," muttered Iah.

"Was that sarcasm, great mistress of doom?" Zack smirked.

"Shut up! If not for you, we wouldn't be in this mess. Oh well, we'll be in to see Sephiroth in an hour or so, so tell Dega."

"Ohhhh…..you like him, don'tcha? You wants to make sure your boyfriends alright. How cute!" Zack laughed.

"JUST GO ZACK!" Screamed Iah, which caused Zack to head for the hills.

"Zack's back…." whispered Sephiroth. Dega turned her head just in time to see Zack rush into the room, panting like a prison escapee.

"Oh Lord, oh Lord! Iah's gonna kill me! Sephiroth, save me, SAVE ME!" cried Zack.

"Great…good for you. Did you bring the meds?" Dega asked. Zack tossed the meds to Dega, and then proceeded to rush around the room, looking for a place to hide. Dega ignored him, handing a glass of water and some pills to Sephiroth.

"Take these, you'll feel better," She said. She studied his face for a second, and then said;

"You think too much. No wonder your sick." Sephiroth stared at her with a slight expression of confusion on his face. "So, what's so important that your mind can't work properly?" In short, this was Dega's way of saying, "what's on your mind?"

"I just had a weird dream, nothing unusual." Sephiroth stated. He was, unfortunately, speaking the truth. Weird dreams were common for him, but this one seemed a bit too off setting to be ignored.

"Okay, when did this start?" Dega asked.

"So Gibbs didn't inform you?"

"No, of course not! Nuts for brains Gibbs always tells me things at the wrong time. Or in this case, not at all!"

"Dega? Its okay, I don't mind telling you about it."

"You sure?"

"Yep"

"Okay, tell away."

"Well, it started around when I was fifteen…"

Sephiroth stared at the math equation, bored out of his mind. He had already proven to Hojo and some other men that Trig was too easy for him, so the problem on the board seem stupid to put up. Gazing around the study room, Sephiroth noticed that Hojo had left the door open, giving him free access to leave. "Finally," he muttered under his breath. Like your normal teenager, he didn't like hanging around the adult crowd, he liked to do thing his own way. But unlike the normal crowd, his own way usually meant beating someone in the battle arena or creating a new attack. Doing math problems to show that he had a brain really didn't interest him that much. Ignoring his conscience, he got up and walked from the room, hoping to find Gibbs or Austin and Lindind for a re-mach. They still couldn't beat him, and in fact, he had to watch his power around them, or he might kill them. Not his fault, though.

Sephiroth glided down the hall and grazed past the east wing. Then, he stopped, looking down the connecting hallways to the north tower. Supposedly, the north tower was where all the experiments happened. A quick glance around, and he decided that it was time to explore. Rushing down the hall, he found a fight of stairs and took them three at a time. If possible, he didn't want to get caught, especially not by Hojo. He cleared the stairs so fast that even he didn't notice he was at the top. Glancing around, he saw that he was in a normal looking lab, full of test counters and tubes, and multi-colored liquids, nothing interesting. He walked over to one of the many stain-resistant counters and saw nothing unusual. "Great, nothing fun here." He mumbled, boredom regaining its place in his mind.

"_Are you sure? Nothing fun," _said a beautiful voice. It sounded like a woman's.Sephiroth's eyes shot forward. "Who's there…. and where are you?" He looked around the room once more, seeing nothing had changed…. except he saw a metal door this time. "Wonder where that leads…" he muttered, walking over to the door.

"_It leads to me." _Sephiroth pressed his ear against the door. What was that? It sounded like a heartbeat.

"Really? Or are you some stupid Shinra Grunt playing a trick on me?"

"_I no nothing of these Shinra grunts. Are they your friends?"_

"Heh, yeah right."

"_You seem bored, want to play? I know a fun mind game. Come, Sephiroth. Come play a game with me." _Sephiroth jerked away from the door. "How did you know my name? Answer me!" He yelled.

"_Please child, I hear your name from those men who come here a lot. Don't be afraid."_

"Those men? You mean, the scientist?"

"_Yes, scientist."_

"Who are you?" he asked again.

"_A friend put here to entertain you. That's who I am."_

"No name?"

"_Not that I know of" _Sephiroth lean once more against the smooth metal.

"You must be lonely in there all by your self.

"_No really, I have people like you to comfort me."_

"Really?"

"_Yes, my boy. By the way, what do you look like? I have heard descriptions, but I wanted to meet you in person."_

"Well, hold on. Let me get this door open." Sephiroth said. _Wait a second…what am I doing? A complete stranger is talking to me and I'm opening the door for them. What am I thinking? _In fact, he noticed that he hadn't thought about the situation at all. He looked at his hand, which was slightly at an angle from almost turning the knob of the door to the door itself. "I shouldn't be here," he said suddenly, "I'm leaving." He began to walk away.

"_Stop, don't leave!" _Sephiroth stopped in his tracks. _What, why aren't I moving?_ His head turned back to the metal door, squinting his eyes as though he could see through it.

"_You said you wanted to play with me."_

"Leave me alone!" He screamed with so much force that the room shook. He waited a few seconds and smiled. _No random voice will take control of me._

He began to walk, but not toward the exit. He didn't seem to care until he saw he was once again at the metal door. "What!" he said, confusion taking over him. He lifted his right hand and placed it on the knob.

"_You said you were going to play with me. I know a fun mind game, lets play that." _He turned the knob.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING, BOY?" Bellowed a voice behind him. He felt an arm around his waist just as it pulled back, knocking the wind out of him. His hand let go of the knob as he was thrown into a stool in the corner of the room. It was then that he saw who had yelled. There stood Professor Hojo, winded and angry as ever. Hojo turned and closed the door, which had opened only a centimeter, if not less. Then, he looked back toward Sephiroth, who was now regaining feeling in his stomach and his breath was returning to normal. "Do you know what's beyond that door?" he said, half yelling the words. Sephiroth only stared at him, then the door. "Guess that's a no…." Hojo's voice trailed off, as though he was lost in thought. Sephiroth's eyes wandered toward the labs entrance, and he began to ponder if Hojo would notice if he made a dead bolt for the stairs.

"Well, boy, you shouldn't be up here," started Hojo.

"I have a name, and it ain't boy," muttered Sephiroth.

"What was that?" Hojo fixed his eyes on Sephiroth, as though he was a hideous specimen for observing.

"You heard me," Sephiroth was tired of being polite to someone who didn't know age differences.

"Why you ungrateful little brat. Do you know what would have happened if you had opened that door?" Hojo asked.

"Nope, and I don't really care," Sephiroth said with a smirk. Then, he stood up, preparing himself to leave. He cased a glance in Hojo's direction, half expecting him to turn red with raw emotions. Instead, the scientist was just staring at him, his eyebrow twitching. Sephiroth felt as though he had won a great battle. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have some important things to do," Sephiroth started to bow, but stopped himself. "Good day, Hojo." With that, he walked out of the room very calmly, like the events that had just happened never occurred. When he was a far enough distance down the stairs, he ran.

Gibbs sat on the oak chair, staring at the fifteen year old like a starving man to an apple tree.

"Yer sure this door said all that?" He asked. Sephiroth nodded from his seat, which, in this case, was his bed. . "I mean, it was a _door_, a piece of metal, an inanimate object, my gosh!"

"I understand that, Gibbs, but I know what I heard. Last time I checks, doors don't have heart beats or sound like women!"

"This don't make no sense to me, lad," Gibbs said, then added, "woops, forgot you didn't like bein' called lad."

"Thanks, at least you care," growled Sephiroth.

"So you ran into Bark-for-Brains, too eh?" Gibbs asked.

"That man is nothing more than a walking mass of complex cells," said Sephiroth.

"I have no idea what you just said, but I have a feeling it bashed Hojo, so good for you!" Gibbs said back, causing Sephiroth to burst out laughing. Gibbs looked at his watch and gasped.

"Holy Demon Crap!" he yelled, "Its ten till midnight. Who knew you could talk so much, Sephiroth!"

"Another reason they need to add window here, otherwise, you have no idea is it's light or dark out," mentioned Sephiroth. Gibbs wagged his head in agreement.

"Well, night commander tiny!" Gibbs cracked and sped out of the room before Sephiroth could say anything. Sephiroth just shook his head and sat back down on his bed. He looked at a small hand-drawn picture of a family taped to the wall, then to the ceiling.

"Night guys," he muttered, laying down on his bed and throwing the covers over himself. That's when the nightmares began.

"So your nightmares began when you were 15, along with hearing a strange voice in your head," said Dega.

"Yes, you caught on faster than Gibbs did back then," Sephiroth pointed out. Dega smiled from the compliment as she handed Sephiroth a glass of water.

"I am more intelligent than my husband, I do admit" This made Sephiroth spit up the water he had just attempted to drink, and made Zack (yes still trying to hide from Iah) slide into a wall.

"YOUR MARRIED TO GIBBS!" Zack and Sephiroth yelled at the same time. There was a great silence, followed by laughter from the two SOLDIERs.

"What's so funny, boys?" Iah asked, walking in to the room, closely followed by a teary eyed Lei-Tein.

"I-I'm gonna mis-ss your laugh, Sephy-san…." Lei-Tein stammered. Sephiroth looked at her confused.

"What do you mean by that, Lei?" he asked.

"We-ll, Zacky-chan said tha—that you were going to…. to…WHA! DON'T DIE ON ME SEPHY-SAN!" she cried, rushing over and burring her face into Sephiroth's chest.

"Zack!" bellowed Sephiroth, "What did you tell Lei-Tein?"

"Well…I kinda…told her…that you were…gonna die…" Zack looked at Sephiroth. "Oh Lord, now both Iah and Sephy-san are gonna kill me! Dega, you're a doctor, save me, SAVE ME!"

"Oh no, I can't save you from your own stupidity, Zack," Dega said.

"So your not gonna die?" questioned Lei-Tein.

"No, Zack just made that up," said Iah, who looked highly amused from watching Zack cower in the corner.

"Really? YIPPIE! BIG BROTHER SEPHY-SAN ISN'T GOING TO DIE! YIPPIE" screamed Lei-Tein as she gave Sephiroth a big hug. Then she proceeded to prance around the room like a happy little schoolgirl, causing everyone in the room (except Zack, who was still cowering) to laugh out loud.

"So, what were you boys laughing about when I walked in here?" asked Iah, finally regaining breath from the long laugh.

"Dega just told us that Gibbs is her husband," Zack said.

"WHAT?!?" yelped Lei-Tein. Iah's eyes became a large as dinner plates.

"You've got to be kidding me. You married Gibbs? Of all people on this planet, you married Gibbs?" Iah stammered.

"What's so bad about it, lassie?" Gibbs said, standing in the doorway.

"GIBBS!" Everyone, except Dega, who knew he was there, screamed.

"Yeah, Gibbs. That be me name. So what's so funny about me marrin' Dega?" he asked.

"Its just…" started Zack.

"…. that you guys…" continued Iah.

"…. really, really…" Lei-Tein added.

"…hate each other," finished Sephiroth. Gibbs and Dega looked at each other, then they both giggled.

"We never hated each other, just calmly argued. Its normal in marriages," stated Dega.

"So how long have you been married?" asked Zack.

"Fer yer information, Zacky, we've been married fer 'bout 10 years," said Gibbs, proudly.

"Gibbs, watch your grammar," said Dega, waving her finger back and forth.

"What 'bout me grammar, Deg?" Gibbs asked.

"Never mind…" Dega turned back toward Sephiroth, "Seems your dong better. I knew those pills would work," Dega threw her hands in the air, "HA! In your face, Hojo!" Dega stood up and began to dance around the room, not caring that she was making Zack, Gibbs, Iah, and Lei-Tein move with her, due to lack of space. "I win, you lose, now you gots to buy me booze!" she sang. Sephiroth smiled.

"Just another day for us, aye?" Zack said.

"Yep, just another day for us, Zack," with that, Sephiroth placed his hands behind his head and leaned back, a happy feeling rising up in his body. "Yet another day I avoided you, Jenova," he whispered quietly as he closed he eyes "another day I avoided you…"

Sephiroth awoke to see that everyone had fallen asleep on his floor. "Great," he muttered, being careful not to wake Lei-Tein, who had fallen asleep next to him on his bed. He looked around quietly until he saw Gibbs watch lying on the table. Maneuvering around the sleeping bodies, he retrieved the watch and hit the neon green light. 5:30 a.m., time to get up. "I love getting up first," he whispered to himself. Then, he inhaled a long breath and shouted "TEN-HUT!" Immediately, the five sleeping bodies came to life. Two, he guessed was Lei-Tein and Zack, crashed into each other, and hit the floor again. Iah hit the lights.

"Sephiroth, you git! Why did you wake us up at such an odd hour?" hissed Iah.

"I woke you up because if I hadn't, you all would have slept in." Sephiroth said in his matter-of-fact voice.

"5:30 already?" asked the half-awake Lei-Tein. Zack had fallen back asleep, so Iah walked over and kicked him in the head.

"OWWW! That hurt!" Zack yelped, sitting up to rub his head.

"I'm going to go get ready, bye boys," Iah said.

"Ready for what, sis?" questioned Lei-Tein.

"The newcomers, duh." Iah said, leaving the room.

"The newcomers! Today? Oh Lord, I've got to go, come on Gibbs!" rushed Dega.

"Okay Mommy…." Gibbs murmured.

"Gibbs!"

"Wha….Oh, did I say that out loud?"

"You coming or not?"

"I'm comin', I'm coming, don't get you skirt in a bunch," Gibbs said, following Dega.

"Bye guys!" Lei-Tein said, rushing after the mob that had left. Now it was only Sephiroth and Zack.

"You ready?" Zack asked.

"One second…okay, now I am," Sephiroth said, retrieving Masume off its wall post. He nodded to Zack, and they left for the meeting hall.

The two SOLDIERs didn't arrive late, but they weren't early, so of course, Hojo chewed them out. And, as usually, both men ignored him.

"Here they come," Zack said, pointing at the large metal door. Soon, the metal door had creaked open and Shinra Grunts were pouring in. "See any good ones?" asked Zack.

"How about short, blonde, and shy?" Sephiroth said, pointing to a boy in the back of the group.

"Nice choice, lets go get him," Zack motioned.

"Lady's first," Sephiroth said calmly.

"Age before beauty," mocked Zack. Sephiroth smiled and began to walk over to the boy. Like usual, the Shinra grunts parted for him, because of the stupid title Zack had given him. "Sephiroth the Great" or something like that. In 20 short paces, the two SOLDIERs made it over to the boy.

"Hey kid!" Zack yelled, making the boy jump.

"I'm not a kid," the boy said, "I'm 14."

"Oh, sorry then. Let us give you the tour here, since you're new," Zack said.

"Does it cost anything?" the kid asked.

"Just a name," commented Sephiroth.

"I'm Cloud, who are you guys?"

"I'm Zack, and that white-haired girl over there is Sephiroth," laughed Zack.

"I'm not a girl, Zack!" growled Sephiroth.

"Your…the great Sephiroth?" Cloud asked.

"So you did blurt that stupid title out to the public. Thanks a lot, Zack," muttered Sephiroth. "So, Cloud is it? You coming with us or not?"

"Yeah, sure!" Cloud said, looking up with excitement.

"Yes! We've got ourselves a new team mate, Sephy-San!" Cheered Zack.

"Sephy-San?" asked Cloud.

"Don't ask," Sephiroth said, rolling his eyes, "this way, Cloud."

An hour later, after giving Cloud a tour of the base, Sephiroth brought Cloud back to his room, followed by Zack, because he had nothing else better to do.

"This is my room, Cloud. I'll see if I can sneak an extra bed so you don't have to bunk with snore's a lot Zack." Sephiroth said.

"Are you guys always this nice to people?" Cloud asked.

"Just to guys we like," said Zack. They walked into Sephiroth's room so Cloud could take a break. Cloud imminently slumped on the bed, while Zack took a chair and Sephiroth looked for a book to read.

"How did you know you liked me? We've never met," questioned Cloud. Zack leaned forward, motioning to Cloud to do the same.

"Well, you see, Sephiroth over there can read minds," Zack said.

"Really?" whispered Cloud.

"Yeah, and he is even known to…." Zack suddenly stood up and walked out of the room, soon coming back with a ball, which he calmly passed to Sephiroth.

"Thanks, Zack. I was looking for that," Sephiroth smiled, and went back to looking for a book. Zack shook his head like a wet dog.

"Sephiroth! Why'cha do that!" Zack yelled.

"To finish your sentence," Sephiroth said. He motioned to Cloud, who was still sitting on the bed, but was now slightly confused.

"What I was trying to say before puppet-master over there took over was that he can control people by taking over their minds." Zack said, scowling at Sephiroth. "It's a new found talent of his."

"That's cool," Cloud said.

"Not really," came a voice. Cloud's head whipped sideways.

"Oh, Cloud, this is Iah-Ling, Iah or I-Ling for short. Iah-Ling, Cloud," Sephiroth said, not looking at the door.

"So you're the lucky grunt that he picked. Pleasure is mine," Iah said, taking a bow. "Where you from, lad?"

"Nibelheim."

"Ah, Nibelheim," Iah said, "nice town. My sister, Lei-Tein, and I are from the great Cosmo Canyon."

"Wow, I didn't know that people from the Canyon wanted to come here." Cloud said with amazement. Iah leaned close to him.

"Trust me, darling, it wasn't my choice. Good luck, kid" With that, she nodded to Sephiroth and walked out of the room.

"Don't worry, Cloud, she's always like that," Zack said, seeing his downcast face. "Some say she even likes Sephy-San."

"ZACK! WHAT'D I SAY ABOUT SAYING THAT…. AND STOP CALLING ME SEPHY-SAN! ITS ANNOYING." Within that second, and from the cover of the overturned table, Cloud learned why Iah had told him good luck.

A year later, Cloud had everyone from Sephiroth's team down by a first name basis. Unfortunately, Sephiroth couldn't find an extra bed, so Cloud was stuck sleeping with Zack. And from what he had told Sephiroth, Zack snored louder than an airship. Other than that, Sephiroth noticed that Cloud fit in pretty well for a grunt. They had some bad times, i.e. the roof incident, and good times, like every normal group of friends, but Sephiroth couldn't help but think something terrible was going to happen.

He looked at his team carefully as they waited for Zack to get out of the lunch line, hoping they would give him a clue on why he felt this way. They had pushed two tables together so Cloud could sit comfortably next to Zack, whenever he got there. He decided to sit down and catch up with his team, since they all wanted to talk at once. From what he heard, Lei-Tein was talking about her new Kunai knives, which, she claims are better than her sister's crescent blades, Gibbs was talking about Dega, like usual, Iah was pondering how to beat him in the next tournament (yep, he read her mind) and Cloud was talking too him. Wait, Cloud was talking too him?

"Uh, Sephiroth? Your sitting in Zack's seat," Cloud said, pointing. Sephiroth looked down.

(Roof incident, see To Grow Wings)

"Woops, forgot," Sephiroth said, jumping up. He began to walk toward another chair when he heard a strange noise. It sounded like a distress signal.

"Plane…shot…. wing…. damaged from…. fire…computer off…something took over…plane. Man…with critical…. to the head…complaining…about strange voices…Do you copy? Does anyone…What the Hell? Who are…" The signal ended. Sephiroth stared forward, horror stricken. _Strange voices? Did he mean Jeno…_

"Born in a barn, or do you just like standin' up, Sephy-san," said a voice, breaking his thoughts. Once again, Zack had caused him to wake up from something important.

"Did anyone hear that?" Sephiroth asked as Zack took he seat next to Cloud. Cloud was smirking from Zack's comment.

"If it was Zack's stupid attempt at a joke, then yes," Iah said. She too must have been woken up from thought.

"No, something else. It sounded like a radio transmission," Sephiroth said. Everyone looked at him, confused and slightly discomforted.

"Sephy-San's hearing things again…" muttered Lei-Tein.

"Least it ain't that weird chick. What's er name, Kakova?" said Gibbs.

"I think its Jenova, Gibbs" Iah corrected.

"DON'T EAT THE CHICKEN, YOU SEE WHAT IT DID TO SEPHY-SAN!" Zack screamed, dropping his chicken and pointed his finger at Sephiroth.

"The chicken didn't do this to him," Iah said, standing up. She walked over to Sephiroth and looked at him. He turned away. "Eye contact, please," Iah ordered. Sephiroth faced her, their eyes locked.

"What are they doing?" Cloud asked Zack.

"She's replaying his memories, probably the ones from the last five minutes," Zack said. "She tried doing this to see if Sephiroth had any relatives or family, but it didn't blow over well." Cloud nodded and turned back to see Sephiroth was now sitting in Iah's chair, eyes glassy. Iah's eyes were similar. About a minute later, Iah blinked and the process ended. Sephiroth slouched a bit, and then sat up straight, as though pricked by a needle.

"So, whad'a see?" Gibbs asked her.

"I saw nothing, I heard everything. Sephiroth's right, there was a transmission. If you'll excuse me, I have to get to the radio department," Iah nodded to them and bowed to Sephiroth, then rushed out of the room. Lei-Tein watched her sister go, standing as she went.

"This can't be good," she whispered, running to catch her sister.

"Mind if we leave?" Gibbs said, motioning to Cloud, Zack, and himself. Sephiroth nodded, gazing, as everything seemed to be moving in fast motion. In one minute a friendly lunch had gone distraught, thanks to him. His team had just left him behind, because of something he said. What was wrong with him?

"Sephiroth?" someone said. He looked up, seeing that the someone was Cloud. Sephiroth stood up, voice changing to an unusual icy tone.

"Don't you have some place to be, Cloud?"

"I was, um, worried about you, sir." Cloud said, blocking his path to leave.

"Zack tell you to say that?" the voice Sephiroth heard speak didn't sound like him at all. "Out of my way, grunt."

"Now I know something's wrong. What happened? Iah probes your mind for a minute and you get all cold. What's up with you?" Cloud said with a force, not moving an inch. Sephiroth rubbed his head.

"So-sorry Cloud. I…its just something came over me. My apologies, it wasn't my place to talk to you like that. You aren't my…brother," Sephiroth murmured, shoulders sagging down a bit. He turned away from Cloud, face filled with an odd emotion, grief. He began to walk around the table, heading for the exit, but stopped. "Could I talk to you in private, Cloud?" he asked. Cloud nodded and followed Sephiroth out of the cafeteria and into his bedroom. There, Cloud took a seat and Sephiroth stayed standing.

"What do you need to talk about, sir?" Cloud asked.

"Don't you mean 'I need to talk to you, sir'?" Sephiroth rephrased. Cloud looked at him, realizing he had read his thoughts. "Sorry once more, but your face had me worried."

"Well, sir, the way you were acting back in the café, that didn't seem like you," Cloud said.

"That's because it wasn't me. It was someone…. something else," Sephiroth pointed out.

"You mean Jenova, like Iah said?"

"Yeah, so she told you?"

"Only the name, sir." Sephiroth looked at the wall, and began to pace.

"Do you want to know who Jenova is, Cloud?" he asked. Cloud looked down, then said yes. "I would like to know myself, Cloud…but I do know one thing," Sephiroth paused.

"Are you okay, Sephiroth?" Cloud asked.

"Yes, I'm just…trying to tell you this in a way that won't shock me. I know it's a bit confusing. But…. someone told me…. that Jenova…. is my mother, Cloud," Sephiroth watched as Cloud's eye became very large.

"Di-did you tell Iah or Gibbs about this?" stammered Cloud. Sephiroth shook his head.

"No, I haven't, and I don't plan too."

"Why not? Their your friends, Sephiroth!"

"Because, Cloud, right now, I feel I can only trust you," Sephiroth said, turning to face Cloud. Cloud couldn't believe his ears.

"Are you sure, Sephiroth?"

"You're not going to believe this, but in your short time you've been here…you've been…like a brother to me, Cloud," Sephiroth said.

"What about your family?"

"I've never had one." Clouds mouth dropped open. "Sorry, Cloud, I didn't mean you to take it like that."

"No, no, its not that. Its just, why me? Why not Zack or Gibbs?"

"I already told you Cloud, I trust you."

"Thank you, Sephiroth…. for telling me and all," Cloud said, bowing slightly. Sephiroth could see that he felt honored.

"Anything else you want to talk about, Cloud?" Sephiroth asked.

"No, I better get going," Cloud said, standing.

"Okay, don't get killed now, little bro," Sephiroth said, messing up the already messy mop Cloud called hair.

"I won't, no worries!" Cloud called, running down the hall, smiling.

_"No worries, no worries, no worries, no worries, no worries, no worries…" the words echoed. Hojo laughed, "So you've made a new friend? How interesting." Hojo looked around the deserted lab. "This is too easy…" he smiled, looking at the casualty report. "Plane crash, two dead and one seriously injured" he read allowed, his evil smile not leaving his lips, "You did well, Jenova…" he said, looking at the open metal door. Somewhere inside, Jenova opened her eye, and smiled._

It was a calm November morning, exactly one year from the time of the plane crash. Since then, weird things started happening around the base. Four people had died of head injuries, two SOLDIERs were in a coma, and three had committed suicide, all from hearing a strange voice. Everyone felt as though someone, or something, was watching their every move. Everyone was on edge, and the overload of missions was not helping.

The team sat around one of the many tables in the Meeting Hall, discussing the Reactor missions that Iah, Lei Tein, and Gibbs had just returned from. Iah was angry, due to the fact that she lost a SOLDIER in a case of stray fire, and she was showing it.

"It was a careless act, an act of stupidity," she kept on saying, and by this time, no one was paying any attention to her. Everyone's attention, even Cloud's, who usually didn't care one cent about the reactor business, was on Gibbs.

"I overheard some news from the Nibelheim Reactor. Hojo says that there Reactor has some nasty stuff goin' on. Says he be sendin' a platoon of SOLDIER soon. Towns in a panic. Huge monsters he says!" Gibbs said, flailing his arms as though they were wings.

"A platoon, eh?" Sephiroth asked.

"Yep, meaning Butt-mouth will be comin' for ya, Commander. Any idea's on who you gonna take?" said Gibbs, pointing to himself, hinting he wanted to go.

"Yes, Zack and Cloud,"

"Wha? Zack and Shadow? Ya sure? Shadow's just a grunt!" Gibbs hooted.

"See," Iah said nudging Cloud, "told you he liked you." Cloud smiled, having been told earlier that he was going.

"Have a problem with my man Cloud?" Zack asked.

"No, but next mission, I'm comin' wit you nerds!" yelled Gibbs.

"Okay, Gibbs," Sephiroth said. Just then, Hojo walked in. He looked at Sephiroth.

"You ready, sir?" he asked. Sephiroth nodded and motioned for Cloud and Zack to follow. They followed Hojo to the deployment dock. Gibbs, Iah and Lei-Tein soon came running after them.

"We didn't know you guys were leaving now!" hollered Lei-Tein.

"Sorry, didn't want you guys to miss us," Cloud said. Zack and Sephiroth nodded.

"Well, were gonna miss ye anyways, duh!" laughed Gibbs.

"Have fun, Commander," bowed Iah, then she walked over and gave Sephiroth a kiss.

"Woooohoo! I knew you liked the o'bean!" chanted Gibbs.

"What, a lady isn't allowed her goodbyes?" Iah asked, waving goodbye to Sephiroth. The three guys boarded a truck leaving for Nibelheim and watched their team fade away.

"So, Cloud," Sephiroth asked, "Ya ready?"

"TO NIBELHEIM!" the three yelled.

_Three days later, Nibelheim inn_

"So, how's Cloud doing?" Sephiroth asked Zack.

"The motion sickness seems to be wearing off…. why?" Zack looked at Sephiroth. Something seemed…different about him. Maybe it was stress from the reactor.

"Nothing, just worried about my team," he said, facing the window.

"You sure? Cause the way you acted at the reactor was sure scary…" Sephiroth cut him off.

"I'm leaving," he said, simply.

"What? Where?" Zack jumped in front of him.

"To the Shinra Manor, I need to see something," Sephiroth stated.

"Okay, don't freak me out like that, man," Zack said, stepping to the side.

"Sorry, won't happen again," Sephiroth said, walking out of the building. For some reason, Zack didn't believe him.

_High in mount Nibel, Jenova watched the events unfold with a pleased grin. Hojo was right, everything was working, and so easily. She even had a new play toy, Sephiroth, as Hojo called him. But, Hojo hadn't expected what was about to occur, unlike she had. He also hadn't planed on her betraying him. But that was all going to be explained in a little while, so she didn't care. Cocking her head a little, she muttered, "So, what's next, my child?"_

The Shinra Manor looked just like Sephiroth thought it would, but he didn't care about that. He needed to find the library, and thanks to the blueprints he found earlier, that was a snap. He located the secret door quickly and slipped down the stairs behind it. He walked into a hall with slippery walls and slick floors, making note of his surroundings. Once again, he noticed a door, only this time, it was wood. Grinning, he went over and tapped it. Nothing happened. He leaned against it and heard a faint heartbeat. His grin turned into a wicked smile. Something was behind the door, and that's how it was going to stay. He looked at the door, then continued down the hall. There, he walked through another wooden door, and finally found himself in a grand library.

"Just what I was looking for," he said, pulling a book from the shelf. It only took him three books to realize he had been tricked. Hojo was right; Jenova was his mother, but he forgot to tell him about his bloodline. The blood of the ancients runs though his veins, and that runt of a man Hojo didn't tell him. He was a god, an immortal. "You wanted that power, didn't you, Hojo? You didn't want me to find out? Well, you're too late. You can't control me anymore!" He yelled, laughing sinfully. "I am a god!" He roared, throwing the book to the side, causing many more to fall to the floor from the sheer force of his toss. "The blood the ancients runs through my veins, and you didn't tell me?" Infuriated, he threw his fist against the wall, toppling a bookshelf. He threw Masume into the neighboring wall, watching as the sword cut through it like a knife to hot butter. "I've been living around people who treat me as nothing, when they should be bowing down to me!" He picked up a chair, and tossed it into a near by table. Smiling, he looked at the destruction he had just caused. He shoved his hand into his pocket, feeling his fingers hit a round object. Curious, he plucked the object from his pocket, holding it up to the light. It was a ball of Fire Materia. He began to laugh, the Materia glowing a dark red, then exploding into a fiery blaze in the palm of his hand.

"Let the suffering begin…."


End file.
